Dave Franco’s directorial debut The Rental, starring Dan Stevens and his real-life wife Alison Brie, on Netflix is a slow-burn indie horror flick. It has more suspenseful elements in it and fewer jump scares than you would expect in a horror flick. Franco co-wrote the screenplay with Joe Swanberg and the result is a decent 89-minute horror film. The pacing is slow and the slasher madness doesn’t happen until the very end. Although the movie won’t keep you up at night, it sure is going to make you think twice before renting an Airbnb. 

What is the plot of The Rental on Netflix? 

Charlie and her wife Michelle head to a coastal Airbnb along with Mina and Josh for the weekend. Mina is Charlie’s coworker who she also shares a “special bond” with, plus Josh is Charlie’s brother. Mina was rejected when she tried to book the place before Charlie which made her suspicious of the property owner. It does feel like something is off with the rental.

Meanwhile, we also learn that Josh is insecure about Mina and Charlie’s relationship and that Charlie cheated on his ex-girlfriends. While they are dealing with this internal drama, Mina discovers hidden cameras in the showers and from there onwards, things start spiraling down. 

Who are the cast members? 

• Dan Stevens as Charlie 
• Alison Brie as Michelle 
• Sheila Vand as Mina
• Jeremy Alien White as Josh
• Toby Huss as Taylor 
• Chunk as Reggie

Reviews of Dave Franco’s directorial

The Netflix movie, The Rental has a 5.7 rating on IMDb, and the reviews are mixed.

Sleeping_Dragon wrote, “I liked this, having found many horrors in the slasher/mystery genre pretty disappointing in recent times, this was pretty decent. It’s definitely flawed, so don’t expect masses of tension or any scares, but overall, it’s solid.” 

While CinemaClown reviews it: “Taking the slasher formula, applying it to the Airbnb terrain, and still failing to bring anything new to the table, The Rental is a run-of-the-mill horror-thriller that takes a conventional approach to a premise that packed plenty of potential & promise, and settles for far less than what it was capable of despite there being so many options to explore right in front of it.”

Decider says, “STREAM IT. It isn’t good enough to garner awards chatter—the movie does have something to say about privacy, but it doesn’t really get around to saying it until the very end—but it’s nonetheless a polished, enjoyable watch.”

Meanwhile, Guardian says it is a “predictable cabin-in-the-woods scares”.

Will you be streaming The Rental on Netflix? Have you already? Share your thoughts on the movie with us in the comments below.